Why ionic crystals are brittle?

Not all ionic crystals are brittle. Alkali halide crystals (such as NaCl), which are made from singly charged ions, are not particularly brittle, although they are usually easy to cleave. read more

Ionic compounds are brittle due to the strong bond between the positive and negative ions that make up the molecules. These positive and negative bonds create crystals in rigid, lattice structures. Applying pressure shifts the alignment of the ions and results in brittleness. read more

Not all ionic crystals are brittle. Alkali halide crystals (such as NaCl), which are made from singly charged ions, are not particularly brittle, although they are usually easy to cleave. Crystals made from doubly charged ions (such as MgO) are usually brittle, because they have much stronger Coulomb forces between the ions. read more